A message from Senior Vice President Pam Skinner:
As the deadline for the Retirement Incentive Initiative (RII) passed February 18, I am writing to introduce a new initiative aimed at mitigating the impact of workforce reductions as part of our ongoing budget planning.
The Voluntary Exit Option (VEO) is a program available to all permanent full-time and regular part-time employees with more than one full year of service and is among our strategies to ultimately reduce the number of layoffs that will be needed to address the financial shortfall for the coming year.
As President Kennedy has shared, sweeping federal policy changes have had a significant impact on our budget planning for 2025-2026, with a 40% reduction in international enrolments impacting budgets across our college. While the college has implemented several strategies to reduce expenditures and increase revenue, it is clear that program changes and workforce reductions will be necessary. Full details, including any necessary layoffs, will be determined early in May after the 2025-2026 Business Plan and Budget is finalized, and the processes outlined in the collective bargaining agreements for support staff and faculty will be followed at that time.
The VEO is open to employees across all employee groups, including those who chose not to participate in the RII, and this initiative has been shared with the leadership of the support staff and faculty union locals. Those who choose to participate in the VEO will receive two weeks’ salary for every year of service to a maximum of 52 weeks. Participants in this program must end their employment by June 30.
All eligible employees will receive a memo by Friday, February 21 in their Employee Self-Service portal, with personalized details, including their years of service and lump-sum payment calculation. The deadline for participation is Friday, March 21, 2025. We’re sharing this information now to provide time for employees to carefully consider their options and make an informed decision.
I know the uncertainty created by news of budget and staffing reductions at other colleges, coupled with the enrolment and budget challenges we’re navigating here at NC, can create anxiety and concern across our College community. Our leadership team remains committed to doing everything we can to mitigate the impacts of this unprecedented budget challenge on our people and our students by being open, strategic and systematic, and the VEO is guided by these principles.
If you have questions regarding the VEO, please contact your supervisor, or Human Resources at [email protected]. To access Frequently Asked Questions, go to your MyNC Portal and log into Brightspace. You can then select Human Resources in the My Courses section and Content in the blue menu along the top.
